San Diego Mesa College (SDMC) in partnership with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) is requesting support for a 5-year Bridges to the Baccalaureate program. The goal of the proposed Bridges program is two-fold: first, to increase the transfer rate of underrepresented minorities from an associate- to a baccalaureate-degree granting institution, and second, to increase the graduation rate of these transfer students with baccalaureate-degrees in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. SDMC is dedicated to increasing the transfer rate of minority students in the sciences through an established Transfer Admission Agreement (TAG) with UCSD and the UCSD Link Program. UCSD is strongly committed to the Bridges partnership by providing administrative guidance, faculty-mentored research laboratory facilities, peer mentoring during Bridges, and focused academic support after transfer to enhance retention. The Specific Aims of the program are 1) to increase the overall transfer admission rate of underrepresented minorities majoring in the biomedical or behavioral sciences by 10% per year, 2) to transfer at least 70% of the Bridges students to a four-year university, and 3) to ensure that 75% of Bridges students will earn a bachelor's degree in the biomedical or behavioral sciences. The core component of the program is an 8-week intensive summer internship program at UCSD followed by ongoing mentored research experience in laboratories at UCSD. The developmental activities at SDMC will prepare students to engage in productive learning at UCSD through curriculum and workshops designed to enhance college success, basic skills, and research expertise. The program goal is consistent with the national goals of the Bridges program in that there will be a substantial increase in the number of students that transfer in the biomedical sciences to UCSD and other four-year universities. The proposed program will be evaluated against the specific aims listed above. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]